Lakers jersey history No. 1/No. 3 — Trevor Ariza
As the Lakers approach their 80th season of existence (they were founded back in 1946 as the Detroit Gems in the National Basketball League), LeBron Wire is taking a look at each player who has worn their jersey, whether it has been a purple and gold one or the ones they donned back in the Midwest during their early years.
We will now take a look at Trevor Ariza, who played a pivotal role in the Lakers winning the 2009 NBA championship.
Ariza, a 6-foot-8 forward, went to Westchester High School in Los Angeles and then played one season at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a second-round pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, but he amounted to little in his first three seasons as a pro.
The Lakers sent big man Brian Cook and wing Maurice Evans to the Orlando Magic for Ariza early in the 2007-08 season. Ariza arrived as essentially a wet ball of clay, and coach Phil Jackson went to work molding him into a key part of the team.
He quickly emerged as an energetic team defender and a strong finisher in transition. His 3-point shooting gradually improved as well, and he eventually moved into L.A.'s starting lineup late in the 2008-09 season.
In that year's playoffs, Ariza averaged 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 47.6% from 3-point range as the Lakers won the NBA championship. He had a couple of steals in crunch time during Game 1 and Game 3 of the Western Conference finals to get the Lakers over the hump.
He left that summer to join the Houston Rockets, and although he jumped from team to team in the years to come, he enjoyed a productive career as a serviceable role player. In 2018, he flirted with another ring before the Rockets blew a 3-2 series lead and were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
Ariza came back to the Lakers for the 2021-22 season, but by that point, he was done being a viable NBA player. That turned out to be his swan song in the league.
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